Third woman recounts encounter with deputy accused in groping case

John Gibbins/San Diego Union-Tribune

Sheriff's Deputy Richard Fischer, seen here during a May 30 hearing at the Vista courthouse, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he groped several women while on duty. He has said the allegations are false.

Sheriff's Deputy Richard Fischer, seen here during a May 30 hearing at the Vista courthouse, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he groped several women while on duty. He has said the allegations are false. (John Gibbins/San Diego Union-Tribune)

A 46-year-old North County woman testified Tuesday that an on-duty sheriff’s deputy groped her inside her a motel room, and that he was aware that an argument at home led the woman to take her school-age daughter there.

The woman said the deputy called her several times that evening, saying he wanted to check up on her later, she said. When he showed up at the motel room door, she let him in, and he took her into the bathroom, she said.

She said he then groped and pawed at her, as her daughter slept on the other side of the wall.

After the deputy left, she testified, “I immediately broke down and cried.”

Her testimony came on the second day of a preliminary hearing for Fischer, 32. At the end, Superior Court Judge Daniel Goldstein will determine if the prosecutor presented enough evidence to order Fischer to stand trial.

In February, the deputy was charged with sexual misconduct involving 13 accusers, many of whom said he groped them after meeting them while he was on the job.

In August, prosecutors filed a second case involving three additional accusers, including one who said Fischer forced her to perform a sex act on him. This week’s hearing is to review the five charges in the second case.

Fischer faces upwards of 25 years in prison if convicted on all of the charges in the two cases.

The 32-year-old has pleaded not guilty and has strongly denied the allegations, which he has said are false.

On Tuesday afternoon, the 46-year-old woman said she fled her home after an argument with her ex-husband, who also lived there. Deputies soon pulled her over after getting a report that she might be under the influence. She was not, and they let her and her daughter go.

Later, she said, Fischer called her cellphone and asked if she was OK. She told him she was going to get a room with her daughter.

In the hours that followed, he called her repeatedly, and also showed up at the motel three times.

In the third encounter, the woman said, she let the deputy into her room, and they went to the bathroom, where he touched and carressed her. She ended up with her cheek to the wall as he pressed her from behind and held her by the back of her neck.

She said he then lifted her up and placed her on the sink, pressing against her and groping her. When he left, she said, he told her not to tell anyone and that he could get into trouble.

On cross examination, the woman acknowledged that the deputy had not threatened her.

Earlier Tuesday, an Escondido woman testified that Fischer fondled her, putting his hand between her legs as he removed handcuffs and let her go after a drunken-driving crash in San Marcos last fall.

The 25-year-old woman, who at the time was working as a cocktail waitress, said she’d had five or six mixed drinks with whiskey at work. When she drove home, she crashed into two parked cars on Furniture Row.